


Snapshots

by Mizamiko



Category: Karneval
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-20
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2017-12-17 20:37:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 18,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/871728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mizamiko/pseuds/Mizamiko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Points in time in the Karneval manga/anime in the past, present, future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. He Who Fights Monsters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you look at it, if Akari really is one of the top researchers in the government, then this chapter really is a possibility.  
> It's short and a bit rough so expect some re-edits. But at least it has some HiratoxAkari in it. Sort off... Err... don't hurt me please... Trying my best here...

In the depths of the Kuronomei, there are places that students are not allowed; from private apartments for visiting officials to laboratories of such delicate experiments that a single mishap would have destroyed the whole test. The information Management course has prided itself in its ability to know everything within the walls of the Academy. The ability to hack into the Academy server to extract information on these special places was a badge of honour to any student capable enough. Akari would like to keep that illusion intact.

To teach inquiring minds was a joy, may hap a little off-putting when dealing with brats of the more recent batch, Tatsu's brother being one of them. But, of all his official duties, teaching was the one he liked the most, it made him feel like the doctor that he touted on his title. Better than the butcher that he really was.

If Circus is the arm of the government that dirties their hands to keep the people safe then the Research division was the arm that bloodies theirs to keep Circus unharmed.

He studiously washes his hands clean. Given a choice he would have grabbed a brush to scour his skin, as if that would make it cleaner. It was an obsession that had its roots from when he was still a student and his descent to darkness began. All it did was turn his pale hands raw and red.

The rooms were incongruous to the actual deeds that take place in it. Several rooms were bright, sterile, and smelled of antiseptic. Another room smelled of formaldehyde. He had worked in all of them. He knew what he was getting himself into. The decision to walk into those rooms every time didn't become any easier each time.

Even in the quiet halls of the Research tower he could still hear the screech of the varuga that once were human in his head. If he were a kind man he would have ended their pain. If he had an ounce of pity he should have killed them, but he was way beyond that now. Every trickle of information that he could wring from their dying bodies, these failed experiments that were no better than animals now, was one more drop of data for him to use to help Circus defend themselves from them.

So he steels himself, grits his teeth as he takes samples, and goes about his experiments as if the screams were nothing more than white noise.

Years later, when he could honestly say that he no longer skirted the edge of becoming one of the monsters of the same ilk as the creators of varuga, Akari wonders if all he has done had been enough. He can still see the grotesque bodies in his mind's eye, still hear the cries in his nightmares, still have tainted hands. He had given up so much and could barely recognize the person in the mirror now, yet they were no closer to ending the war.

A delicate nip of teeth at his nape sent shivers down his spine as a cool hand traces a path from his shoulder down his arm to entwine callused fingers with his own. A warm body pressed against his back. A gentle nuzzling of his hair and then a lick at the shell of his ear. He didn't need to open his eyes to know that hungry dark eyes would meet his. And this was his answer, if it was worth it all.

He still scrubbed his hands raw. He will never be clean. But for every nightmare he lived, he knew, somewhere, a child was saved. They will never thank him, it was Circus they thanked, and he won't begrudge them. He never asked for anything anymore.

It was small, but it was a separate peace and it was enough for someone like him.

* * *

_The more gentle and nice we make it look, the more vicious the story can be._

— **Edmund Mc Millen**


	2. To Heal

 

 

It hurt more than he was willing to show, not that there was anyone to notice.

He was actually glad he was not leaving a trail of blood in his wake. That would have been embarrassing.

The quick patch-up that he did on the way back had some of the gauze soaked through. His clothes were ripped at places as well. It was most undignified; the children had better be asleep and not see this.

The bruises were not too bad; at least it could all be hidden under his shirt this time. Any bandages that he would need should not be noticeable under the required suite for his work. He could work around the stiffness from his wounds; a low dose pain reliever would be enough. It would not do if he took a stronger reliever; he might forget the wounds and bleed through the bandaging until blood wets his clothes. No matter how tough and jaded his students were, finding your teacher bleeding in front of you was not something that should happen. For all that this was an academy for circus hopefuls, this was still meant as a safe place for the children.

It was easy enough to slip back into his apartment, but that was the last place he wanted to be. To 'leave no trace' of his weakness was just as important as his domineering image. The academy clinic would be empty at this time, or should be. He did not even need the light, he has done this before and he knew he will do so again, and soon. Circus still needs him on the field, at least until this next batch of children graduates it seems. The less evidence that he used the facility the better considering he was about to use quite a bit of bandages.

"I would have come directly to your office right after I finished cleaning up." He spoke softly to the supposed empty room.

The squeak of wheels on the tiled floor was the answer to his statement. "It would be a shame for your beloved students to see you so disheveled. They might fall in love with the other side of Doctor Akari."

"Kindly do not even joke about that. I have enough of those brainless fans twittering about. Though I doubt if my 'callousness' would ever endear me to any of them, I am not deaf to their chatter."

A hearty laugh came from the man seated on the chair by the nurses table. The shadows hid much of his features but the glint of his glasses reflected the moons light as his laughter rocked him to and fro.

Some gauze, bandages, antiseptic wipes and plasters from the cabinet to his left, some cream and saline from the next cabinet, and a pair of scissors from the table beside the laughing man, he sat himself on the empty bed and started taking stock of himself. No stitches, that much he had assessed. Skin closures, bandages, and cream would get him started on the healing.

"Do you need help?"

"I am alright" he returned.

"An amazing feat that you were able to get away from your bookends" the other observed. "They've been discreet, but you of course, would have noticed. And had you not informed me I would not have either. They've become really good."

"I look forward to when they graduate from the Circus course. Maybe, even captains of Circus' first and second ships," he answered back, not missing a beat in his cleaning and wrapping.

"You have high expectations."

"They both have incredible potential. Both will be a credit to the National Defense Agency. If they ever get over their irritating stalker habit. Tea time my hinny, they just want to drink."

Another round of laughter came from the other man. A shake of the head and quiet "do you mean their obsession of you?"

"It is unhealthy for ones so young" was his only reply. "There are others they can concentrate on."

"By the time they graduate, the research tower will be ready to take you in and your position in the government will be officially announced."

"And my priorities and goals will be rearranged and I will most likely not be sent on these types of cases. There will be no opportunity to stalk."

"I doubt your bookends would allow you that freedom if your prediction is correct. As it is, if they ever find out where you go to in the evenings without them..."

"I do what needs to be done to help people. Children and students need not to concern themselves of their professors life. People do not need to like me for me to help them. Those two have no say in what I need to do, so that is a moot point."

The soft snip of the scissors echoed in the silent room as Akari concentrated on the re-bandaging of his wounds. He had done this before, both on himself and others. And with practice, as they say, everything becomes easy.

"Do not tell them," he warned without looking up. "Those two.. I dislike them. They know too much."

"You don't like it that they, students, are pushing boundaries to become protectors." He answered shrewdly. "It's too early. Students should play happily as students while they still can. Is that not it?"

"They irritate me. Both seem to be under a misconception that I am too naive and am in need of protection. And, I quote 'for someone who taught us that low amounts of danger hones survival instincts, you seem to have skipped that part in your own life' end quote."

Laughter rang from the other again. "Yes, you do give that impression. It's that honest, straight forward way of yours. You like what you like and you dislike what you dislike and you see no point in hiding that. Even if saying so would get you into trouble."

"What's wrong with saying your mind?"

"It makes you seem as if you only know blacks and whites."

"There are no true blacks and whites. They are all just different shades of grey."

"Yet, you give the impression of a white."

"When in reality I am a patchwork of grey..."

"They say liars and schemers are most comfortable with honest people. The fact that you say what you think and feel without holding back is refreshing for most of us who are used to dealing with 'falsehoods' as they say. You brought it out of those two, unknowingly, but still. Take responsibility little Akari."

A soft 'hump' was his only reply as he re-donned his ripped shirt. "It is not my responsibility to keep track of children who believe themselves capable of protecting others. I am but a lecturer here."

"Very well. Report."

* * *

AN: From one of the flashbacks Akari was shown accompanying Circus ground operations. Let's just say with the way he spoke to Hirato and Iva and the way he acted in one of the arcs it felt like he was almost an old hand.

BTW I should really remove the drabble label... It really isn't working out... (1000 words instead of 100)


	3. To Guard

It was not odd for a faculty member to be seen with students. This was, in fact, much encourage by most of the faculty. It was a show of their willingness to answer the questions of their students, be it academic or personal. Though the academy is divided into Circus, Information Management, R&D, and Life Medicine courses, they all connect to each other and each need the others. So it was also not so unusual to see IM faculty with R&D students or Circus students with R&D faculty. Oddly though, most if not all, students and faculty, try to stay away from the Life Medicine area.

Ergo, it was highly unusual, to say the least, to have two Circus students, uninjured one's mind, to be seen with a Life Medicine faculty. Willingly. This was not to say that Life Medicine students and faculty were shunned. It was just that, much like the R&D course, they had their own world.

Most Life Medicine students also take some R&D units and apply it in their field, which is probably the most interaction they get outside of their field, of their own volition more often than not. Not that they were hermits. They can be out in the field as much as the Circus and the Information Management course, at times even more if they work completely on the field. In fact, all other courses impinge on their building more than they on others.

Again. Just. Not. Willingly.

So when two of the honours class students of the Circus course parked themselves behind the most intimidating, tactless, and outspoken faculty member in the Life Medicine course, it would normally catch people's attention. Normally. As Akari was in the middle of inoculating petri dishes with his latest batch of samples, he was alone in the micro-laboratory. Not to mention it was past normal class time, the halls were virtually deserted.

"Now this is surprising. Our Akari is breaking Academy rules." The smooth tenor grated on Akari's hearing. "Aren't you supposed to be an example to us delinquent Circus students?"

"Come now Hirato" a deeper voice answered. "Maybe our little Akari is just too busy that he suddenly, conveniently, disappeared from the whole Academy grounds. Conveniently losing two of Circus' best students."

"I have no need of people who needlessly prattle when important tasks needs to be done. Students from the Circus course truly have a lot of spare time that they need to bother those who are very busy." Akari answered in a huff as he deliberately kept his back to the two students. Hands automatically sterilizing the loop for the next dish, his body in autopilot on ingrained procedures.

His bookends were back.

He didn't need to turn to know what he will find behind him. Priorities, of course. As a researcher, he has found that sometimes instincts need to be suppressed for more favorable outcomes to come to fruition. Sometimes, when certain fight or flight instincts arise, it was best to fight; even it was likely to be a futile endeavor. An example would be the present situation. To stay and foster a more protective instinct in a Circus student or to flee from the confrontation and cultivate a more predatory mind set in already volatile beings.

It did not take a genius to figure which Circus will benefit more from. To retrain natural hunters and have them become productive citizens, mainly by redirecting their mindset to what would be 'appropriate targets,' was a lofty endeavor. It was not all of Circus students but most of the very best would fall under the type.

The two behind him were prime examples. Under the thin veneer of civility, he felt it. But, by some odd circumstance, both students 'liked' him somehow. And in some twisted sort of way chose to 'protect' him. Weather it is to toughen him up or make him more sociable, neither were welcome attentions. Unwelcome but unavoidable attentions. Which brought him back to the present.

A movement to his left had him turning to his right, moving away. At least attempted to. A patronizing smile on thin lips greeted his sight. White Kuronomei uniform pressed to perfection and dark hair almost hiding mischievous eyes. The smirk and confidence irked him. Add to that, was that two 18 year olds were as tall as him and more than likely stronger than him. In a one on one, he might be able to hold off each for a while, emphasis on the "for a while." Enough to distract and run or hide. He had the skills to match but not the power, and he knew both of them were well beyond him. If need be, in really emergency cases, he can take either one down but not for prolonged fights and never head-on. The two at the same time, not a good situation. Both concentrated on him, there was no way he was getting away from this even if he wanted to.

"Maybe the 'Circus' best' would like to train more so that the same situation does not happen again." He challenged with a glare at both students. "If 'the best' that Circus can offer can lose a mere doctor, in the middle of Kuronomei, I truly despair for the future."

"Ah! As blunt as ever little Akari."

Akari stared at the taller redhead. He knew that he was not likely to get taller... "Did you have business with me or are you both in need of extra tasks to lift up your abysmal scores in your Medi2 class."

An arm slung over his shoulder and 2 bottles of amber liquid waved before him was his answer. It was an invitation for another Tsukitachi 'tea party.'

"I have no time to play with you. I have another- What are you doing Hirato?!"

Unnoticed, the inoculated dishes were placed in the incubator and all the samples were sealed and packed. An unrepentant Hirato placed the last of the used equipment in the sterilization bin. "And now we have time to chat."

"This is-"

First an arm on his shoulder, now a hand at the small of his back, he was not a delicate trinket to be treated as such. Yet, all he could do was wonder, if he read the two right, if the two knew what they were doing. He wasn't blind, though he knew at least one of the two was unaware. Their tentative forays in trying to insinuate themselves in his life was laughable. But then his own lack of interpersonal experience, books, laboratories, and fieldwork has dominated his life thus far, it was much like a pot calling the kettle. But then is he ready to let more people in? did he have a choice in the matter?

"F-fine" he answered. Trying to steady his voice. "I will go with you, but I have a meeting with the headmaster when he arrives later so it will have to be short."

* * *

AN: Sorry! No real Hirato x Akari action. I'm getting there… really… 


	4. Poomse

**A piece of my soul given for safekeeping**

An empty training hall after student curfew.

A lone figure in the middle of an unlit room.

Step after step he moved on the cold metal floor. Dark shirt clung wetly as sweat traced paths down a slender neck and down the dip of the lower back.

_(walking stance, punch right to the face)_

It was a dance that he knew from long ago. A time before monsters and when he still walked free under blue skies and open fields.

_(forward stance, upward block left)_

Now, this was all that was left for him to remember the past with. A part of him, locked away, only to appear amidst closed doors and darkened rooms. He had two left feet, but this, at least, he knew not to trip up. More than a hundred repetitions had ensured that at least yet in times long past he remembered loathing every minute of it.

_(back stance, chest block right)_

When he moved he didn't need to think. His hands and feet knew what needed to be done. This was a far cry from when he just started. Back then, he could all but wheeze and cough after just a warm up. Now, his breathing barely changed.

_(back stance, knife block left)_

This used to be a chore, now it calms him whenever he let his body just go through the motions, freeing him to think and assess things that have come to pass. Even if each step makes him ache for people long gone.

_(natural stance, end)_

"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you."

He remembers reading said passage. At the time it held no meaning. Now, there was a line that he grazed ever so often. And the words somehow haunt him. Sometimes he wonders if someday he will be forced to cross it, and if by that time will he even care. And that scared him more than he was willing to admit.

He had already done much in the name of humanity, dirtied his hands for the 'peace' that other live in, inflicted pain to gain knowledge that would benefit the cause. He knew that no amount of water could ever wash away the blood on his hands. But, he also knew, that he will do it again if it meant that somewhere, somehow, someone else didn't have to do it.

* * *

A student watched his professor move through the academy training hall like he was meant to be there rather than the laboratories and examination rooms that he was known to haunt. It sent chills up his spine. The harmless face that he teased and taunted was skilled enough, though maybe not strong enough, to stand up to him, yet has never had.

The beauty that was so delicious to anger could actually do damage.

He didn't know if he wanted to know this side of the taciturn man that has intrigued him for his incredible intellect and his unexpected kindness. A mind so sharp that even the government acknowledged it. A disposition so cold that many perceive him no longer human. A kindness so surprising that he wonders why no one has yet hounded the man.

As he was now, he knew, he had little chance to make the other his. But one day.

* * *

Z Round Table

"Do you really think it's safe to let the boy come into contact with a SSS rank personnel?"

"It's a gamble."

"The boy holds much promise."

"He is too dangerous, already so strong for one so young."

"Cradle cells seem to be compatible greatly with him."

"I am against it."

"This has possibilities."

"They will eventually work with each other."

"Circus did not initiate any of this, we did."

"Your brother had better keep him safe Tokitatsu."

* * *

AN: Err… this was supposed to be a drabble… It didn't want to stay as one.

Quote from Nietzche, not mine!

Finally wrote something for the fandom! Yay! Love their interaction. Sorry to anyone who hate the pairing. Flames will be used warm my candle diffuser! Ciao!


	5. Lamp Unto my Feet 1

Gold

Yogi's earliest memories of his life in Circus were filled with pain and the image of a beautiful man. Whenever he woke from the pain, the slight smile on the man's blood splattered face struck fear in him. How could he be happy?

He hated him.

He feared him.

Yogi could never understand how all the other Circus members can look at him as if he was the light in their dark world. He wasn't dumb, but he wasn't very bright either. He knew that for all that he hated the man; he really was one of the hopes for their side. But still…

Though he had a face that turned heads, he was a scary man who does not care for the pain that he inflicts on others. He knew he owed his life to the brilliant researcher, many of them did. It was just hard for him to understand why at the end of the day, no matter how much he feared him, he was glad that it was his face that he saw. Because for all that he feared the man, there was no other that any of them can trust with their life.

The hand that heals was the one that he wanted to see… even if he can only look at his legs most of the time.

* * *

Beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror …

* * *

Silver

Yogi's earliest memories of his life in Circus were filled with pain and the image of a beautiful man. Whenever that uncontrollable part of himself flared, that man would be there trying to ease the hurt and stop him from hurting others. He remembered enough of that time wherein he hurt the man enough to draw blood, yet still his faint smile before the world grew dark made those moments precious.

He adored him.

He dreaded for his safety.

He could never understand how anyone could not see the light that the man held for those who lived in this dark world. The man held their lives in the palm of his hand, and he did not even need cradle cells to do so.

The man held the power to end his life, yet he never did. And for that he will forever follow him.

* * *

Beauty is power.

* * *

Quotes from: Rainer Maria Rilke, _Duino Elegies and_ Chuck Palahniuk, _Invisible Monsters_


	6. Lamp Unto my Feet 2

Red

Amongst the leaders in their organization, there are those that Tsukitachi would follow and those who he would rather bury. He wasn't naïve enough to think that they all worked for the same thing. That was why he was in the Circus course. At least most, if not all, of the people who entered the course had that one goal in mind, the destruction of Varuga and the end of Kafka.

It was rare to find the same feelings and drive in others, especially the vaunted Life Medicine and Information Management course people. He had little to no respect for the other branches of the government. But sometimes one or two would be the exception to that rule.

Once in a while, in their world of conniving and egoistic people there would be a few who are worth following even when they are not from the Circus course. Someone who knew the truth of being a part of Circus.

His white coat was a sharp contrast to their dark cloaks but he was there with them, though he was not one of them. He worked tirelessly in the background, and when given a chance led them.

He bled with them.

Tsukitachi knew he was meant to lead in Circus, but he also knew that there were those meant to lead but were far too important to be placed in the front lines. People who knew the reality of their world were few and far between. He was glad that when he left Kuronomei there was someone there who will never be part of Circus but understood them all the same.

* * *

Beauty is truth, truth beauty

* * *


	7. To do is to understand

     Akari trusted Tokitatsu to make his excuses to the tower masters as he walked the shadowed streets of the abandoned town. It was not often, but he would prefer to have the better diplomat deal with the usual detractors. For all the certificates that he has received, diplomacy was the least liked subject that he wished to dabble in. Tatsu, on the other hand, was a deft hand. It was a form of entertainment even for the elder Woody.

     Though he was walking down an unpaved path, almost at the outskirts of the town itself, it was still too quiet. Not even the bark of strays or the chirp of crickets could be heard, eerily quiet. This was one of the signs that he has observed from his previous cases. The utter lack of normal signs of life, the surrounding area had noticeably already been picked clean of life. Akari made a mental note to have this phenomenon added in the next update on the Varuga fact sheet.

     Normally, he had Tatsu with him, as well as some of the mans prized Usagi and Hitsuji, pet projects that were planned to completely take over certain defence protocols in the Airships. This rare time, he had four of each protector jumping rooftop to rooftop. Discreet, yet still easily trailing him. It both comforted and annoyed him. He would lose them in a heartbeat had Tatsu not told him that his escorts were programmed to bring him back immediately if he took a side trip beyond the agreed upon jaunt. This excursion was one of his many whims that Tatsu indulged him in, even when he always protested vehemently against it. Something about safety and grunt work. Safety was all well and good but every little bit that he learned was another fact that may help him understand their evolutionary cousins that wished to remove them from the gene pool.

     The offer for Head Researcher had not been a surprise; it had been one of his goals to begin with. The hoped for title, a key position where he had access to laboratories and researches that he would not have been able to get into. The price though, Akari knew that this may well be his last taste of freedom for a long while. Yet, he willingly entered the gilded cage, even when all he wanted was to walk the untamed forests of the Niji Forest or climb Merumerai. It would not have been so bad had a certain Woody not introduced him to the pleasures of a world outside of the laboratory, outside of his controlled conditions. A world where his ordered line of balanced formulas and heavy tomes filled with diagrams and slide shots moved and breathed.

     It was amusing that Tatsu had been the first to drag him in that very first hunt for a live specimen. He had needed that. To put a face on the boogieman that had come creeping into their world. That had been his first encounter with what they were fighting against. It was then that it first sank in that some of those bodies he had cut up had once been human and alive. In the periphery of his thoughts he knew, it was simply easier to not care. Now, he could no longer turn a blind eye. It was his burden to carry.

     His partner in crime could not always sneak away. Importance had its privileges; liberty was not one of them. It was simply unfortunate that, to date, no specimen brought in by the military has ever been to his satisfaction, not since that first live Varuga.

     Tonight, though, was likely his last sample acquisition. Solo expeditions, unfortunately, were not in the list of permissible actions for SSS rank personnel. It had been agreed upon that there will be no more expeditions without a human escort, regular Circus combatants for certified safe areas or ranked 2 and up Circus combatant if leaving said zones. Facts that Tatsu himself had dutifully informed him. The smirk that accompanied the whole conversation made it more a challenge than anything else. It clearly said, "what will you do now?" It grated at him.

     It was a fairly run down house, what paint it may have once sported had lost its battle against the elements. Again, there was an oddness that only those who have been exposed to Varuga, in any of its forms, would have been able to notice. It was not really anything in particular. It was more the lack thereof. The absence of care in what once could have been a garden. Trellises and support poles meticulously set lay empty as bushes lay as masses of overgrowth. The missing smell of decay in a place that has obviously been neglected yet was lived in. Something easily passed off as mere laziness on the part of the current occupant yet at odds at the same time.

     A light push on the battered door and it swung open with barely a squeak from the seemingly oiled hinges. Akari knelt and took out his kit and grabbed the two pre-filled metal syringes therein. He knew survival was not in the cards tonight and it pained him to be the one who was to take this sample away. A specimen in his hands meant longer suffering. Between him and the military, he was the less kind collector.

     She would have been a lovely child, was all Akari could think as he got his first glimpse of his quarry. Her features were still more human than Varuga. He could still see some blond patches of hair on what once was the head now bulbous like in hydrocephaly. Her lone green eye tracked him and the maw that might have once been her mouth dribbled with a fluid that he knew was no longer saliva. It was apparent that she was a failed experiment left to rot and die, no longer worth being observed by his Kafka counterparts.

     He wasn't even surprised when she launched herself from the corner of the bed where she had been surrounded by ripped cloth. It did not take much for him to deduce what befell those who previously found her.

     He was careful with his hits and he executed the move like he has done it hundreds of times before. He used the girl's momentum against her as he sidestepped and slammed the first of the syringes at the bloated head. Just like he first hypothesized when he first saw the pics of some of the dead varuga before Circus burials, this particular specimen had cranial sutures that had been forced stretched. The needle sank in quickly after the initial resistance of what had once been thin skin. He injected the clear almost innocuous fluid and mentally thanked Tokitatsu for the "toy" syringe that now forced the fluid against the higher-pressure fluid in the Varuga's cranium.

     He took a quick step back and readied the other syringe, in case he miscalculated.

     A breath.

     Two.

     The Varuga did not move from where she fell. Yet he could not even spare a sigh of relief as the next step that he was about to do was another brick to his "path to hell."

     He pulled out his PHS and called the number third from the top of his contact list. He stared at the unmoving body before him as he waited for the call to connect.

     "It's rare for you to call Akari! What's the occasion?!" Tokitatsu happily greeted from the other end. "I will order cake immediately!"

     "Pick me up from my present coordinates."

     "Ahh! I see you have quite a specimen there" came Tatsu's voice from one of the Hitsujis that entered the room. Outside, a Kuppi landed and Akari knew that there had not been enough time for it to have come from Kuronomei. "Aaaanndd, your carriage awaits my queen!"

     Dismissing his PHS, Akari sent a glare towards the Hitsuji that spoke with his friend's voice. He watched the Usagis and Hitsujis gather the girl for transport. Seeing that the specimen was in good hands, Akari picked up the Tatsu/Hitsuji and stepped out of the house turned Varuga lair.

     "You, knew I was out" Akari whispered to the Hitsuji as he held, not cuddled. Akari Dezart does not nuzzle fluffy, well-armed and deadly sheep shaped toys. "How long has the Kuppi been flying overhead?"

     "Does it matter?" The familiar voice now came from another direction. Dark navy suit clad Chessmaster cut a slim figure from the door of the Kuppi. Single-breasted coat tailored exquisitely over broad shoulders creating gentle lines around a slender waist. Side vent style flattering the already fetching silhouette, it was a picture far too fashionable for a simple escort job. "Leave the sample with the Hitsuji and Usagi. We have a soiree tonight, little Akari"

     "More important than the specimen?"

     "Did you really forget?" Tatsu asked, mirth underlying his words. "It's the inauguration of your favourite students as Airship Captains."

     With a last look at the girl, Akari entered the Kuppi and bid farewell to his days of freedom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: A snapshot right before A Dance. I so wanted something with the Hitsuji and the Usagi. I just could not fit Hirato in. I'll leave Hirato to Azii-dono and everyone with a deft Hirakari hand. A little Tatsu for everyone for now. Hirato's charm and style must have come from somewhere, as he didn't seem close to his father in canon lets go with this.
> 
> Again, really rough and no beta readers.


	8. A Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And now we start the courting... Err yeah... And again, it's a bit raw and expect some re-edits along the way. Veerrrryyy long winded. And yeah... Um just a heads up. There will be something like another series fic beside this that will reference some parts... so yeah.

The lights were low and the music was soft. He watched the show from his secluded niche by the live band that was chosen for the night. So far he had been able to hide away

He watched the two newly minted Airship captains put on a show on the dance floor. It was a sight to behold. It was the tango, and an incredibly sensual one at that. Watching the two flirt and tease their partners with every movement they did in the name of the dance, it was beauty in motion. Though both had their promotions given at different times, there had been too many missions to complete that neither captain could set aside time to attend an inauguration ball.

Like always, he spent the bulk of the celebration in a non-obtrusive corner of the hall. Not that he did not enjoy formal activities, as much as he enjoyed a emergency c-section for tetanic contraction operation, but this was something important to his two former students. And for all that their attitudes irked him, they were one of the best that he has ever taught. A part of him felt pride on how the two turned out, though he still felt he needed to take them down a notch or two sometimes. Tonight though, this was theirs and he knew enough that the only way either would come out of this night unscathed would be for him to leave them well enough alone.

He was a wet blanket, that much about himself he knew. There was a reason why he only attended these sort of things but never spoke. He would rather attend a convention. At least there he could care less if he made an enemy out of all the attendees. Here, where many of the "higher ups" rubbed elbows, he could not chance making too many, not that they could touch him. But unfortunately, strawberry blond hair did not lend itself to fading into the background. He was found easily enough by a former first captain.

"Surely we haven't bored you to tears already little Akari."

Akari always wondered if he had a target sign painted on him. It seemed like no place could ever hide him, not when Tokitatsu wanted to find him.

"I see little point in my being here," he answered. "I could spend a more productive evening in the Research Tower or Vinto."

"True, but appearances needs to maintained."

"And the nightingale needs to be paraded."

Tokitatsu give him a smile, not the one he used when working with the Tower Masters or his own superior, but the one they shared when they worked together in Kuronomei. "A very mute nightingale at the moment."

"I am sure they would prefer that," he returned as he took a sip off his Chianti, which he had nursed for most of the night, not wanting to have even a slight buzz that evening. "So what brings you here? I doubt you just wanted to bring up old times."

"Surely I can still invite you to dance."

Akari pressed his lips together and wondered why this was happening now. They were speaking in code, and he never liked that. It was the code Tatsu made him learn when he told him of his grand schemes for the future. Sometimes he wondered if Information Management would have been a better choice for his friend, though the results he garnered in Circus was no laughing matter. "A lovers tryst by the gardens?"

A full out grin met his answer. He would have hit his friend for having the gall of leading him out with a hand at the small of his back, had he not decided that they needed to be discrete. He mourns his reputation, as he knows someone would be watching them. Who it was did not matter, he will hear about it in the morning.

* * *

Hirato found these balls as exercises in patience. He had found early on that Circus, for good or for ill, was his life. This aspect of it was not the part that he preferred.

Give him a mission, preferably solo, and let them all watch the carnage. None of his real stories were for polite conversation, and very few here really wanted to know what the newly minted captains actually did.

They were on display tonight and he had the pick of men, or women, to bed as they threw themselves at him and Tsukitachi. Had it been any other night they would have obliged, played the game, and left them. The game of conquest has never lost its sweetness.

Had it been any other night.

That night they were on unofficial duty. It was their induction ball, and they had a ballroom full of high ranking officials, their significant others, their aids, and their heirs. True, rank 3 and below were the ones in charge of such situations, but there was a SSS rank present, whether the other would admit to that designation or not did not matter.

Hirato and Tsukitachi had both taken turns watching over their once-upon-a-time professor that evening. It was much like when they were still students and they always kept an eye out for that fiery blonde who sometimes became so consumed in helping others that he no longer saw the danger to himself. It had vexed them to no end that their professor would conveniently forget how much more important he was than those he sought to protect. It was a matter of opinion, they were once told. They both inwardly seethed at that. Now that the other gained the SSS rank, and about time they had both agreed, his security was utterly in question.

Hirato had always thought that the blonde's looks and personality would have made him stand out, just like in the academy or the Research Tower. It had surprised him to see their professor suddenly become a wallflower. In fact, had Tsukitachi not informed him where Akari had hidden himself after his dance, there was no other way to describe it, he would not have noticed the blonde. Sometimes he forgets that the Research Tower director knew how to disappear like a good Circus fighter. It was easy to forget, looking at the primly suited doctor, that the man once ran with the best of them, albeit not as a combatant but even his own brother worked with the doctor on the field and that said something.

That was not important though. Hirato wasn't sure to sigh in relief or irritation when he watched his brother strike up a conversation with the researcher. For one, Akari was definitely safer. He may not be on the field anymore but Tokitatsu was still a Circus combatant. On the other hand, his brother had enough enemies on his own.

As he watched his brother lead Akari out of the hall, a part of him wanted to break the hand that touched the blondes back. He had made his intentions clear when he left Kuronomei, at least as clear as he was wont. The scoffed reply had been expected, though he had a feeling the blond did not get that he had been confessed to, in a backhanded way albeit, but he still meant to make good on his word. He knew he lived on borrowed time so he had no intention of letting the blonde escape him; the thought that Akari also lived on borrowed time was bitter pill for him to swallow.

A quick tap on his collar to signal to Tsukitachi that he was trailing their quarry and he made himself scarce.

* * *

The balcony was deserted, and sure enough, a hitsuji stood at attention. "Off limits, off limits"

"Stand down. Continue with security measures. Filter and delete Akari and Tokitatsu until further notice. Commence."

"They really should remove your security clearance. You abuse it." Tokitatsu laughed as he moved behind the researcher.

Normally, he would have bristled at such invasion of his personal space, normally did not seem to apply to both brothers. There were few things he has given up as lost causes. Stalking by his students, former students now captains Hirato and Tsukitachi, being teased and annoyed by Hirato, being moved like a chess piece by Tokitatsu, and having no measure of personal space with all three of them. It wasn't as bad with Tsukitachi, he was much like a large puppy, if puppies had fangs, claws… maybe not a puppy then.

Akari massaged his temples to stave of the headache that he knew was coming, that or him lashing out at his friend. "You do know your brother followed us out, right?"

"My, he is so very possessive of you." He moved as if he was cornering the blond to the balustrade. Akari had been in the same position many a time and knew to those around it looked like a picture of lovers cuddling by the balcony. It was anything but. Tokitatsu had him covered from behind with his own barrier-suited body, the hitsuji stood guard at his sides, and Tatsu's hands at a ready in front of him. He was as well protected as could be.

"I am not so helpless that I would need protection in the middle of an inauguration of Circus' two rank 1 Officers." Akari has long stopped fighting this brother, appearances be damned. "Don't tease your brother too much Tatsu. "

"Yes, I might accidentally shoot you down." The low growl contained enough menace that Akari wondered if a varuga was present.

Under the polite exterior Akari knew the brothers enough to know how dangerous both were. The gentlemanly sometimes-careless façade was just that, a mask. It infuriated him that both made it a point to supersede his decisions at times, true he was likely ill equipped to fight the likes of them head-on, few were, but he was no damsel in distress.

He watched in amusement as the brothers sniped at each other, and for once he did not need to intervene for some poor Circus personnel caught in the crossfire. He was safe right where he was.

He was safe until an explosion shook them.

* * *

In a sea of people who would bend to their charms and will, Researcher Akari was one of the few who walked his own path. That was what the brothers learned in the time that they worked with the man. So it was not so much a surprise for them to see the blonde already staring at the direction of the explosion with a grim expression.

"You are not going. We will have a Kuppi ready to transport you back to the Tower."

A raised brow and twist of pale lips faced him. His brother's knowing look did not help.

"Hirato, for a researcher, when a patient is before you, that's when you are given a mission. Have I not taught you that or is that to hard for your protozoan intellect?"

There were times when the man's willfulness truly left him helpless, confounded, and ready to tie up the man to be wrapped in a futon and left in the deepest basement of the Kuronomei compound. The same times when he wanted to haul the man to his rooms and keep him there until they were both sated. Neither one was happening anytime soon.

That night was a learning experience for all of them. For Tsukitachi, it was that he will have to play liaison between the brothers, the elder teased the younger too much. For Tokitatsu, it was he has much to teach his brother if he wanted him to survive Akari's bullheadedness. For Hirato, it was varuga was a lot easier to deal with than a researcher who has scented blood. For Akari, it was that people can be incredibly stupid and who would mix fine flour and fire?

* * *


	9. Damsel in distress... not!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Tokitatsu had only been the head of the Security for 5 years from the manga timeline and it was only then that the Life Medicine and Circus started to have a better relationship. I can imagine a lot of infighting between the two groups before that time. The little to no respect that Tsuki had in his chapter would be something that I can see running through many of the Circus personnel would feel towards those outside their group. The "better relationship" observed in the manga somehow ties in with the "good relationship" between Tokitatsu and Akari, also with the Captains. So I can't imagine Tatsu letting this incident slide.

They didn't have enough time.

No one expected the attack. It wasn't even a prominent research laboratory, just an ordinary one that didn't even dabble in cradle cell research. It was a routine visit, a one-day inspection. Everyone had thought the place was secure. He wasn't even the one assigned to do it but he had been waiting for his assistants to finish data entry before he could continue so he had a bit of time. The researcher in charge of the inspection had had an accident and he was one of the few who knew enough of this particular laboratories main study that it was a foregone thing. He didn't know who leaked the information or if it was by random chance, unlikely but not impossible, but it had happened and now he needed to think fast.

The post animal varuga were not that particularly strong at least compared to other varuga types. Stronger than most people but they were neither intelligent nor skilled. It was simply the sheer number of the varuga against the unprepared research staff that stacked the odds against survival. Many have died already; this research center did not have researchers trained from Kuronomei, and it showed when panic had set in the moment the varuga started eating them.

Akari already calculated the survival rate to be less than what he wished. The likeliness of a rescue before the varuga absorbs them all was also nil. The Kuppi that he had come in in was at the other end of the compound, where the attack started. His own cellphone had been destroyed in his last scuffle with the varuga, and with that his GPS tracking. Any communication to Circus or the Research Tower was lost. All forms of communication were either down or unreachable.

He took a quick rundown of his options as he took a breather, hiding in a mostly untouched cafeteria kitchen. He was alive and mostly fine, no notable wounds though he knew his back and side will be sporting some interesting colours in a few hours. He had grabbed a few candy bars from the Research Tower, breakfast had been rushed, and the coffee he had at the start of the meeting still had him pumped. He didn't have any viable weaponry that would quickly exterminate the post -animal varuga. And even if he did he knew he was not proficient enough to take on the hoard. Now it was a game of hide and seek.

A quick glance at the drawers, skipping over the Chinese cleaver for obvious reasons, he grabbed the sashimi knife and debated on taking the santoku knife. It was not anyone's first choice in fighting off monsters but what he did lack in power he can make up for in planning and skill. He didn't survive being on the field hiding behind the Circus fighters. It sucked to be the ordinary person in a group wielding special abilities, what would take a simple flick of their wrist was half a dozen strikes for him.

One last look around his safe haven, Akari slipped out the kitchen delivery service door and took in his bearings. The nearest town was south, but that was a death trap with its open road and fields. The forest east of the compound would have been ideal, it had a town beyond, farther but still a town, but there was the hoard between them. North was the gorge and try as he might he never did learn how to fly. West was the last choice, which was no choice at all, another forest but no town only more trees and animals, which suited him just fine.

He had better survive this or Tatsu will laugh his head off and the brats would worry.

* * *

For a massacre it was incredibly clean, most would think that blood and gore would be a staple but as all DNA materials are taken, not even a hair seemed to have been left behind. This would be a normal investigation, had it concerned normal people. It was an open and shut case, a varuga attack in a research facility, nothing new.

This was so until the team found the Kuppi in the hanger. Kuppi's were Research Tower exclusive transportation; to have one in the middle of a newly reported attack was bad. To discover that it carried ranking personnel was worse. To finally figure out the identity of the passengers included an important person in your life, unthinkable.

Tsukitachi gripped his cellphone and wondered, not for the first and definitely not the last time, if choosing the first Airship had been the right choice. It wasn't his business but he knew it would be best to tell his friend now, rather than him finding out from some idiot from the government or worse from his brother.

As he walked around the perimeter of the facility he entered his friend's number.

"Hirato, we have a problem."

"Tsukitachi, I'm in the middle of a mission." A loud crash and roar could be heard from the background. "If it's for a tea party the answer is no. I know Akari is in the middle of a breakthrough he won't have time to even lift his head to insult you."

"And how did you know that?" It had always surprised him how Hirato knew where their taciturn researcher was; more often than not he was correct. "Even I couldn't hack that out of the Tower servers!"

A chuckle and more crashing sounds could be heard. "Nurses are very chatty."

"You seduced an innocent woman to get little Akari's schedule…"

"And there is a point to this call?"

He often wondered if his friend really understood that sleeping around wasn't likely to endear him to Akari let alone have him consider him as a potential partner. Which brings him back to the reason for the call.

"Your source is faulty and you better hope I have better news for you…" Tsukitachi trailed off as his eyes grew at the sight before him. It was an odd thing to find outside a kitchen and the light just hitting it right as he passed the wooded area caught his attention. A post animal struggled futilely against a tree, a blade passed through its midsection and impaled it to the bark. That in itself was not unusual. It was the weapon of choice. None in his team used that particular knife, he was positive no one would. The blade was too light and delicate, a fugu hiki. It was a working knife, not some thing of beauty, it was good at what it does, It sliced cleanly through the varuga. He was no knife connoisseur but he did remember one of the two knives that his friend kept sharp in his oft unused kitchen. Their little researcher never ceases to surprise him.

"Hirato, hold that thought."

* * *

One after the other the varuga fell.

Hirato was annoyed.

Vermin.

These unmentionable vermin, dared to harm what was his.

He had gone out for a solo mission to confirm a lead; he had always preferred to see things through himself. Raiding the warehouse had not been in the plan. He was going to leave that to his children. Let them have some fun. Tsukitachi's call had ruined that plan spectacularly

Hirato has always prided himself in his ability to keep in control of any situation, be it in reality or as a mere illusion. This was not one of those moments.

Another post animal charged at him. And had anyone been around they would have been treated to a sight that has not seen daylight since Hirato graduated from kuronomei. A fierce grin of someone revelling in his actions dancing in the middle of swarming varuga. Blood and body parts flew as he let himself go. His standard operating procedures called for finesse, which was the last thing he wanted, he simply wanted to lay carnage to the place. His warning to those who commanded the varuga that they were stepping on a landmine.

This was personal.

These things. These insects brought this all to themselves. None of them will escape him. Their ilk will suffer until what was his was returned.

The floor was litter with wriggling, and shuddering bodies and parts by the time he finished. Puddles of fluid swirled around black boots as it made its way out of the building. The unsettling grin was now back to the oft seen smile, like such a thing was but a figment of some dark author's imaginings. Now he had cleared his mind he was ready to face humans again.

Now, it was time to look for his lovely Akari.

* * *

The whole rescue operation was anticlimactic as rescues went.

Tokitatsu went through the reports that came in from the first Airship. In truth, he knew that there was a lot that the First Ship Captain did not include in the report. He had seen some of the video footage from the security cameras from the facility. From the reports it was nothing more than a varuga attack with one of their own research member being accidentally present. Watching the feeds brought home what ink and paper could never fully convey something many of the paper pushers who has never taken the field will never see.

He paused on the part he had been searching for. Considering little Akari's build and coloring, it has always amazed him how well the good doctor could just slip away. The varuga barely had time to react before the blades had them. There were no wasted strikes, the precision made Tokitatsu smile. Very much like Akari to know where the weaknesses are. Had the man been interested in joining Circus and not the Life Medicine course he would have been an asset in the field. But Akari never had the raw ruthlessness that would have brought him to the rank of Captain. After all is said and done Akari had chosen to save lives.

"Tokitatsu-sama, the meeting at Round Table Z is about to start."

Akari's battle for the day is done. Now it was his turn.

"Make sure no one deletes these video footage's. This meeting will be interesting. Let's see if we can crack some rose tinted glasses today."

* * *

There was only the quiet hiss of the door to warn him of the others presence. The march like cadence of Hirato's heels on the metal floor was muffled and Akari wondered if it was just that he was tired. He knew the adrenaline rush was gone and the resulting backlash was sapping him, not to mention the "water" that Tsukitachi had him drink. Hirato could learn a lot from Tsukitachi in ways to persuade people. A smiling face went a long way; of the two of them he was more wary of Tsukitachi. The boy did not become the First Airship Captain by licking boots.

"Sleep."

He forced his eyes open and it felt like the hardest thing that he could ever do. "Not sleepy!"

Even with his sleep addled mind the mingled scent of blood and oranges that came from the young captain was oddly comforting. It meant life, the man was well enough to kill, to survive, to annoy him while he tried to sleep or not sleep.

A low chuckle and fingers carding through his hair was his answer. The sharp intake of breath and gentle hands turning him over almost had him fighting sleep again till he remembered. Right, he had forgotten his colourful back, it was probably turning blue/black by then, nothing to worry about. Akari knew he didn't need to tell the other that it was nothing. Nothing like what Hirato had suffered himself in battle. So he let it be. It didn't matter anyway. He was the doctor, so he knew better.

As darkness crept up around him, he wondered if Hirato will stay. He'd like that.

It had been lonely without his stalkers.

* * *


	10. His Own Battles

     Most days, Akari liked to pretend that he cannot hear how they whispered behind his back, how he is detested and hated, be it in jealousy or for some slight he may have unknowingly done.  Some days, the rare day when his armour has been weakened, he does hear the mutterings and ill will from all around him and it would be all too much.  Those days, he was ill fit for company, he would take to the deeper laboratories where he would then lose himself in his research.  It was best for both him and those who wag their tongues. He knew how sharp his tongue could be at the best of times, at his worst he knew he could be more than a terror.   

     The moment before leaving for the battlefield was not the best of times for both the muttering and his current dismal disposition.  But he could neither stop his people from talking nor send them away.  Negativity was a dangerous thing in the battlefield and they were about to enter their version of a war-zone. Still it was difficult to just let it slide off him, like water on feathers.  “If you are all done griping about being pulled away from your comfortable beds in the Research Tower, it won’t go amiss if the kits are all checked and secured and all medical teams are separated to their assigned areas.”   

     This was greeted with some enthusiastic yeses from most, but anger or disgruntlement from others.  The group could be easily separated into two distinct groups.  The newer, younger combat medics, the unbloodied ones, the ones who has yet to go on one of these kind of missions.  They were the ones who groused and grumbled.  The “bloodied veterans” knew his words for what it was.  It spoke to them ‘take your positions and ready your weapons, this is what we have trained for.’  Akari knew it will not be long before their innocence will be lost in what Circus battles entail.  It was nothing to the sterile, contained rooms of the Research Tower. 

      For most Circus combatants, the cold metal walls of the Airship were where safety was.  The haven from the skirmishes that would be all around the ship.  For Akari and his team, it was the battle zone where they fight for the lives of the defenders of their people. The last place for infighting or low morale.  Akari just needed to beat that into the heads of the uninitiated twits. 

      A chuckle heard from the entrance of the landing bay was both welcome and peeving.  The shock of red hair and wide grin were unmistakable as the First Airship Captain made his entrance with several Rabbits in tow.  “Don’t push them too hard little Akari.  They’ll be stressed enough once the mission commences.” 

      “Tsukitachi, you coddle your subordinates!” 

      “You are one to talk, I wasn’t the one who asked their subordinates if they used insect repellants on themselves.” 

      Tit for tat.  “Rude as ever.”  

      “Only the truth for our little Akari.” 

      And from that simple exchange Akari knew Tsukitachi has raised the survival rate of the Airship one crew from 70% to a good 90% survival expectation for the battle.  A distracted Akari, though not useless and as confident as he is with his skills, was still not the best candidate to lead a medical team in a Circus operation, definitely not in the scale that they were going to at present.  But a fully invested one was a force to be reckoned with even for death.  It was a distraction tactic worthy of the rank 1 combatant that Tsukitachi was touted as.  

      Tsukitachi, on the other hand, had his hands full.  Though his own subordinates were done, all already briefed with the day’s operation and only the last checks with their Circus bracelets before the mission start was left, there was still the Medical team to settle in.  The team itself was easy enough to organize and station, it was getting the SSS to stay safe within his Airship that was tricky.  He had no leverage to speak off against the other and he was loathed to use the same tactics as his colleague and his brother…    

      Truly, a difficult position for someone like him used to having everything falling into place as he has planned and positioned many steps before hand.  And one wrong move on his part and he knew he will have not only the National Defence Organization, but the wrath of two of the most dangerous men he has ever had the misfortune to have ‘befriended.’  Such was the tightrope he needed to traverse.   

      Akari would wipe the grin off of his former students face had he the ability to do so.   As verbally taking him down was the only option afforded to him, so as always, he opted for that route.  “If you are done lazing about your ship, I suggest you make yourself useful.” 

      “And how do you propose I do that little Akari?  I’m dead tired already, I need my rest for the action later on today.”   
This was Tsukitachi’s way of distracting him from his own thoughts, Akari knew, and bring him back to the current situation.  The upcoming battle. His bookends still knew how to take care of their ex-Professor.  But sometimes he has to take his turn in taking care of them. 

      “Lead the way to the bridge and I will make sure you do your work.” 

* * *

  
      Hirato watched as his rank 2 and elite rank 2 fighters sortie.  It was a rare operation where both Airships were needed to augment Airship 1’s need of rank 2 elites to cover the scale of the operation.  And inside the First Airship, he knew, Akari and his team awaited all and any injured combatant.  That in itself was a nightmare fuel that he could live without. 

      Normally, the good doctor was given to holding court in the Second Airship.  That was where everyone expected the doctor to be, even his fellow captain was surprised with the change in location.  The sudden change had been inexplicable, logistics and some trickled down note from the chain of command stating that the doctor needed to be in the other Airship.  It was not that he did not trust the other captain to take care of such precious personnel, Tsukitachi was close to the SSS rank as well.  There was just this niggling feeling that something was going to go wrong. 

      Over his comm unit he can hear most of the battle that he could not track through his surveillance system.  And a different game of chess played out before him. 

      “Second ship combatant Tsukumo!  You are under arrest!” 

      “The Heart Throbbing Sparkling Prince!” 

      “Ugh!  I can’t believe you’re the same rank as Kiichi!” 

      “Queen’s Guardian!” 

      "You thought you could escape from my sight?" 

      He liked to play chess master once in a while, but not when important pieces of his has a chance of being lost. He wasn't worried for his combatants, not much really, they were fighters and some of the very best the Kuronomei have ever produced even.  It was the non-combatant teams, specifically a very brave and naive SSS rank doctor who had no sense of self preservation.  It had not been unheard of to find the good doctor on the field, in the middle of a firefight, trying to save some idiot who has gotten themselves hurt.  Doctor Akari was headstrong, bullheaded really, and smart, a genius barring his lack of common sense.  Important enough that a cushy job within one of the safest place in the world and almost anything within his reach.  Had Hirato been a braver man he would have done what the First Ship captain had suggested.  Wrapped him in cotton and hid him, safe from harm’s way.  A shard of glass at his jugular would have been the least of his problems.   

      "Hirato! Are you daydreaming?!" A deep well remembered voice rumbled through the comm. "Now is not the time for wool gathering!" 

      "What better time then, when I have the one I dream off so close at hand?” 

      The Second Airship Captain could almost hear the suppressed growl from his ex-professor.  A fiery Akari was a well Akari.  To have the other in any other state was almost unimaginable and had on a previous situation entailed that something had gone terribly wrong.  His nightmare fuel had pictures of a reality that he has vowed to never see again.

      “As I see that you are well enough to function and do your job, I will leave you to your own devices. Though I would like to make it known that it is with loathing that I will do this as I know you will simply fall back to your original dazed state the moment I am no longer watching.” 

      A dark chuckle was all that Hirato would deign the others statement, “you wound me with your sharp tongue sweet Akari.” 

      “Better a sharp tongue than dead Circus combatants.” 

      For a beat Hirato almost thought he heard a crack from the normally composed man’s voice, years of association easily had him going down the path of all possible probabilities and arrive to the conclusion that all was not so well for the good doctor.  In a beat, he had it down to either a loss of a combatant or some dissension in the ranks amongst the Medical group. As he had yet to hear of any mortalities, some morbidity yes, he doubted it was the former. The likeliness of a dissension within Circus was not likely, they were more trained than that, add to that the name Akari was one that is trusted and no sane Circus personnel would even think of not following the good doctors orders, barring a few tormented souls. So, some grumbling within the ranks of the doctors own people was the most likely culprit. He knew Akari was not so weak as to let the others affect his performance, but it was all in the little things that this will all be apparent.

      “Well, I am flattered that you care,” he goaded. He knew there was only so much he could do while in his own Airship but at least this much he could do. “Or should I be insulted that you think so lowly of me.”

      “Think whatever you wish,” the other huffed. “Don’t come to me if you find yourself wounded.”

      Mission accomplished. And now for his next act, how to get the good doctor to wear the pink cat ears he found over at Karasuna…

* * *

  
      At the end of the day, Akari Dezart was happy to report that they did not sustain any casualties. There were a few close calls, but the veterans pushed through after the initial panic that the new medics put up.

      He was glad they were done and over with the new batch, it was just unfortunate that it had to be a major encounter. It had been a trial by fire. They were all so malleable just after their first system shock. It was now that he needed to get them to understand. This was what it was to be a combat medic, are they going to rise up to the challenge or are they going to break.

      He was glad for the silence on the trip back. He will enjoy the peace until the next batch of new graduates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is highly unusual that there be no petty jealousies amongst the Life Medicine group, nurses complaints not withstanding. There are a lot of “office politics” that goes on in a hospital. But, it was also shown in the manga that Akari is able to step up and be a leader when need be. A little help from his bookends will always be appreciated I believe.


	11. Complete Idiots Guide...

It is a well-known fact that Akari was a being of such high intellect that mere mortals like Research Tower staff consider him as another specie of man akin to Varuga but prettier to look at. It was also a well gossiped fact that virtually nothing was impossible for the doctor.

Any detractors would have had a hay-day had they come in his office right at that moment.

The twitch of his brow should be the first telltale sign that all was not well.

He wonders if the second Airship's captain had a hand in the book that was discretely placed on his work table.

The pink apron though...

* * *

AN: And this just for fun.


	12. What They Remember

They both remembered that day. It had been a very ordinary day at Kuronomei Academy. The lectures had been informative, but generally boring. It had all been in the references on the syllabus that they gave at the start of the unit. The physical aspect of the course had been better, not that it took that much effort for either of them. It was a means to an end, nothing more.

They did not particularly get along with each other. The taller redhead had too much energy, the darker glasses wearing acted too dubious. Yet, as they started at the same time, and shared the same dormitory, they had no choice but to interact. The fact that they were of the same age, and were the only ones who could stand each other long enough to work with each other may also have some bearing to it…

Though they have never met him, they have both heard of the 'arrogant and overbearing life medicine faculty member.' And they have pretty much the "take down the idiot if he got in the way" view. But that was neither here nor there as they have yet to have that particular unit.

It had been a routine case for Circus, a joint case with the security force. Their class had been divided and, once again, Hirato and Tsukitachi had been paired together for the Circus course team. The Life Medicine team was a pair that had barely lifted their heads from their portable consoles. Standard barrier cloaks with the medical team insignia on, though not activated. The waved 'Akari' and 'Murasaki' was all that they knew of them. There was no R&D or Information Management course students but as this case had little exposure to both fields, it was just as expected.

Both wore their standard, Circus barrier jackets on. Though it was a low priority case, it was still a field class and accidents can and may happen anytime. And an accident did happen.

The whole operation had been compromised and three of the five full fledge Circus representatives were down. The smugglers were aware of the Circus and had placed measures for them. There was varuga about and that had not been accounted for. The two full Circus members had most of the area under control but there were still a few smugglers out and about. They were left to 'babysit' the Life Medicine team in the chaos. This was a misnomer however as they watched one of the members as he threw off his hood and marched towards the injured Circus and security force members.

One by one, he assessed each patient and either patched them up or passed it on to his partner.

"Oi, whichever you, don't go too far. We're still within an operation zone." Tsukitachi called out to the strawberry blonde man. "Don't get too enthusiastic on your first field day."

"The name is Akari. And, if you have no intention in helping then don't get in my way" the other ordered, not even looking up from his current patient. "Murasaki, this one is stable too. Just leave a sensor on him and check vitals q15. Tell me if you find any vitals dropping, I don't like his breathing."

Murasaki, not missing a beat, did as he was told as his partner moved on. As if not even hearing Tsukitachi, the blonde was moving again to another fallen man.

Only to be stopped by a smiling Hirato. "Hey there! Slowdown will you."

Opalescent eyes glared at him. "Are you not here to 'babysit' us Life Medicine personnel? Then do your part. If you can't do it, then as I said, stay out of our way. We have a duty to perform."

"It will be more beneficial for both sides if you limited your eagerness." Hirato tried again. "They came with varuga and we really wouldn't want to see either of you harmed."

"And it would be best if you quit while you're ahead Hirato."

Both students whirled around weapons drawn, only to be greeted by a Circus officer, well recognized in the school, in full gear. "Whoa! Calm down kiddies. The cavalry has arrived."

"You are late."

"Aw, come now little Akari" the brunet tried as he made calming motions at the other, hands raised and smile in place.

"Go grab your future soldiers and let me do my job."

"No, this will be a good exercise for them." The officer grinned and motioned for Hirato and Tsukitachi. "Mission. You are now to follow and protect Life Medicine Researcher Akari Dezart. Keep him safe at all cost as he does his duty. Eliminate any who attempt to harm the him."

Both student stared at the officer. The officer was not phased. "Is there a problem?"

"P-pardon sir!" Tsukitachi boggled.

"I think this batch is a bit slow 'Tatsu, even if you are related." Akari bemoaned from behind them. "They seem to have difficulty grasping orders."

"With all due respect sir, but this type of order just to defend a researcher?" Hirato inserted, trying to diffuse the situation. "Is that not a bit extreme? We can disable them easily."

"I have no time for your squabbles." Akari sniped in a huff. "'Tatsu, send them over when you're done."

"Oh no you don't little Akari." Tsukitachi cut in grabbing the fleeing doctor around the waist, which was the last thing he said as his world faded into black.

Hirato seeing his partner drop moved to disable the doctor only to see the world tilt and disappear.

"Now, did you really need to do that Akari?" The last thing he heard.

As first impressions went it didn't go over-well for Akari., but definitely piqued the interest of both students. It wasn't every day that a mere Life Medicine researcher, practically unheard of to have a Life Medicine centered personnel, with enough combat capability enough to knock out a Circus combatant, student or no. Unless they were hidden combatants in Life Medicine, which was unlikely with the last order that was given.

It had been a big surprise for both when they met him again in one of their Life Medicine lectures. The name Akari wasn't that rare but still. The interesting researcher was the 'arrogant and overbearing' lecturer for that day.

"Welcome to the Field Medic lecture 1 of 5. My lectures will comprise 84% of your midterms and 39% of your finals. I will attempt to impart to you knowledge that might save your or another's life in the future. Or at least teach you enough to not become burdens to the Life Medicine personnel."

Life was just full of surprises.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And this is why the last was a bit on the short side. Akari should be around 20 here and Tsuki and Hirato 14… They met Yogi when he was 10 so they were 16 at that time, already better circus fighters by then, compared to 14 at least… According to some sources, unconfirmed though, Akari has been a researcher for at least 15 years, meaning since he was 18. According to the manga he was tutored so I'm going on the assumption that it wasn't under Kuronomei.


	13. Paths

You came to Kuronomei younger than most yet older as well. Youth was at your side, yet you were soul weary, it has aged where few ever see. Your estranged brother and you were the last of your family, and it was a burden that you hope will keep you on the right path.

Life had not been kind to you, but then a good teacher need not be kind. A pasted smile and sharp tongue, a devil-may-care attitude with an observant eye, a gentleman with a wicked streak, and it was all a game. A persona for the world to see and they all drank it in like it was the truth.

Even a clown in Circus can hold great power, what more the ringmaster, and you wanted that power. And you hate that part of yourself. This was your chance to start over but you knew yourself enough. Destruction was in your blood. That was why you chose the Circus course. No other course would have slackened your thirst. And you were both terrified and thrilled by the knowledge that is given to you now.

And that was the point where you met him.

An unlikely person, yet you could not just let him be. He was a series of contradictions that baffled you: fierce yet gentle, uninitiated yet a veteran, weak but strong. He was someone you wanted to look down on yet you can't help but follow. You understood him and you don't. He was entirely predictable then confounded you at every turn. And you laughed for the first time when he reprimanded you when you hurt yourself after a training exercise. No one had ever cared enough to be angry. And you found a part of yourself that you thought you had lost.

You had started to care for someone not yourself. Maybe there was hope for someone like you still and that was scarier than fighting varuga.

He was hope.

You wondered if he knew how important he was. You wondered if he knew that you were stalking him. You wondered what was wrong with you, yet you couldn't keep your eyes off him.

It rattled you, the first time you found him bleeding in the infirmary. Rage made the world turn the colour of his shirt, followed quickly with confusion. He affected you more than you thought. You promised yourself that you would never let yourself be so helplessly impotent to protect him.

Years later, as you stand on the bridge of your Airship, you wonder how much of whom you were then were shaped by him. Sometimes you wonder who was protecting whom…

And you asked him.

"Don't misunderstand Hirato. Your brother is the 'Grand Manipulator,' you can claim 'Magnificent Bastard' and Tsukitachi can claim 'the Ham.' Leave me out of your musings."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: A little off I think…


	14. Pawns, Knights, Kings and Queens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chess for the Karneval people

**Pawns**

Tokitatsu loved Chess.

The game of Chess was not one that he could play nowadays, much to his disappointment. There was time enough, not like when he was a student, but worthy opponents were hard to come by.

Once upon a time he had thought that it would be his little brother, or maybe even his wily friend, that would give him the challenge that he craved on the board. How surprised he was when instead of having to wait for nearly a decade to play a fiery strawberry blond would test and push him on and outside the board.

The boy, he wasn't even sure that he had been male at their first meeting, didn't even know of the game, but the title prodigy had not been given lightly. It had barely been a month and the boy had started to beat him a fair amount of times. To date, he had the edge on wins, but he knew enough that it could change any time.

Some of them may debate, Circus students especially as he had this discussion with his year mates, but he knew that most if not all of them were pawns to the government. At Kuronomei almost all of them started as pawns. There were the rare pieces, Bishops or Rooks, like the current student representative Ranji in the Information Management Course.

As the game played out, they all slowly got their underpromotion or for the very rare situations a promotion. His brother Hirato and the First Airship Captain Tsukitachi were perfect examples. From pawns to Knights, and rightfully so. They could move in ways that none of the other pieces can. They can jump over obstacles, and in real life they have done so many a time, much to his entertainment and to the other organizations frustration.

Standing side by side, age and appearance did little to convince others of his and Hirato's blood relationship. But in everything else, they were truly siblings. They might not wish to admit it but they were way more alike than either would ever be comfortable ever living with. They both had their chess pieces and their games. They were both very possessive of those they considered theirs. The only ones that can harm them are those that they let their guards down, and that could be counted with the fingers in one hand.

And though they were siblings they never learned to share. And it was only by pure luck that they both chose the same person as their Queen. It was good because powerful a knight he might have become Tokitatsu knew it would never outweigh the importance of the Queen and he would have loathed having to choose between them.

Now that he was one of the highest officer in the National Defense Organization he was playing chess of a grander scale. He often wonders if he truly was the right person to play this game of chess at this level. The stakes were higher and defeat did not mean just his own death. It was the death of his many pawns and sometimes even one of his important pieces.

And though he loved the game, he likes to play the game on the board more than in real life. But then again he was the one who chose this path, so he intends to play to win.

* * *

**Knights**

The view from Airship Two's many open air verandas was truly one of the perks of being assigned to an Airship. From up on high Hirato can see giant board that he played his games on.

Hirato loved the game.

He never has time to play the board game now, not with all the work that came with being an Airship Captain. He was never any good with the board game, really. Not that he was bad at it. Simply that those he played with were exquisitely good at it, when they put their minds into it.

He remembers watching his brother play it with then Akari-sensei in the few times that he was able to see them meet and simply relax right into one. This was a rare feat as everyone knew the good doctor was a workaholic. On the times he was "free," the doctor was known to disappear for "research purposes." The smell of smoke and blood was telling of where and what the good doctor was up to. That had been his first inkling of the Chess game that his brother and Akari played in the grander scale. One that he was not privy to. Not at that time at least.

Now was a different matter entirely.

Tokitatsu played the game like the Grand Master that he was, he had better since he played for higher stakes. Though Hirato loathe the fact that he was just another piece, he knew that his brother was playing this game with the intention of winning, and winning still meant living. It was just that Tokitatsu winning did not always translate to Hirato winning. And though he knew that when they all signed up for Circus, or not signed up for it as the case of some, they all forfeited their claim for a life of their own. They gave up the right to their very lives; that was why those who had families outside of Circus were given so much. As the Captain, he was responsible for those lives. Tokitatsu, on the other hand was responsible for everyone. And the lives of the few against the lives of everyone was part of the stakes in the game that the National Defense Organization head played. And so far it has worked out for the both of them.

Tsukitachi was another piece in his brothers game that he knew is a player in his own right. Just like him, but he knew the other Airship Captain had pawns and pieces more scattered than his. He was just glad that his game has yet to clash with any of the others. He would rather not pit his strategies against Tsuki. The other captain was far more devious than what his smiling face would have one believe. The National Defense Organization had the right of it when they did the promotions. Tsukitachi was meant for the First Airship.

In the games that Hirato played, he was the Chessmaster and the whole of Airship 2 and then some were his pieces. He knew Tokitatsu played Chess with a larger number of pieces and he knew he and Tsukitachi were one of them. He would like to say that he was at least more than a pawn, at least. A Knight or may hap even a powerful Queen, though that is unlikely with someone like Akari on the board.

He had his own Knights on the board now, Yogi and Tsukumo, though unlikely candidates when he first met them. He had pawns everywhere, even in the Research tower, though at times he wonders if they were still his or has Akari somehow appropriated them. No matter how much he thinks someone was his, especially those from the Research Tower, somehow, even no matter how they seem to resent their Chief Researcher, Akari still holds them as one of his pawns. It was tricky to say the least.

Akari played very differently from the three of them. Hirato could never figure who were Akari's pieces. Even those who he has sent to the Research Tower could never figure who were his Pawns and who were his Knights, did the good doctor even have a piece as strong as a Queen? Was Yogi one of Akari's pieces? He knew enough that he, Tsukitachi and his brother weren't even considered Knight's in the game that Akari played. He had asked that one himself in one of Tsuki's tea parties.

It didn't matter though. Hirato knew enough that the game the other played was, though no longer played in the frontlines, affected him and his own. And though he may play the cold domineering tyrant, there was no one else he would leave any Circus combatant with in the Research Tower.

He loved playing the game and watch others squirm but once in a while seeing the board game was a relaxing option. He wondered if Akari was free for a game sometime soon.

* * *

**Queens**

Tsukitachi hated Chess.

He hated the board game with a passion. He was unfortunately very, very good at it.

On or off the board, he has always been good at playing the game. Two steps? Three? No. His mind had things 10 or 20 steps further than most would plan. It gave him the shivers sometimes when everything just slowly fell into place. But he just couldn't help it. Planning and scheming, it made things so much easier.

He had pieces ready to be promoted or underpromoted. He had had pieces that may take years before he could use but he had them where he wanted them. He even had a pieces in other towers. But there were also people who he would have loved to become his piece but he knew he will regret using. And that was where he drew the line. There are just some things that were far too sacred to just be used. And that may be one of the big differences between him and his two friends(?). There were just some people that one should never use and move as if they were nothing more than game pieces.

Both Hirato and Tokitatsu would willing play the game, and both knew they were just pieces for other people's games. They would protect their more important pieces but will willingly sacrifice those that need to be sacrificed for the "greater good." Nothing is sacred. Not even themselves.

That was what made them so good at what they do. Also probably why he was one of the few that the brothers even let near Akari. Tsukitachi played the game differently from them and he knew where to draw lines. The doctor was someone he considered as "sacred." One did not play around with the one who will heal you and yours. Those you wrapped in cotton and hid away in the most secure hideaway that you had. Not that that particular doctor would ever let them do that.

He remembered how at 13 when he had just entered Kuronomei, he had heard of a healer who walked with Circus students. He remembered meeting him later in an almost embarrassing way, being knocked out by a Medical Art professor. This was one doctor that being wrapped in cotton would be an unappreciated act.

The brothers seem to trust him to not use Akari as a pawn, not that Akari would be anyone's pawn. Sometimes, he wonders, if he got his position due to this. He wouldn't put it past the elder sibling.

That didn't matter. He was where he was needed.

What should he do to pay them back? Now that was a question worth planning for.

* * *

**Kings**

Akari hated Chess.

He would never have willingly played it had he not met a certain idiot. The game was a typical strategy game where there were pieces and it just irritated him to no end sometimes. It was just the type of game the brothers would like to play on and off a game board.

He knew Tokitatsu was trying to tell him something when he taught him the game that long ago night. How he acted as if he needed to explain things, somehow have someone understand what he was doing, in probably one of the most inept ways possible. It was almost funny, to Akari, how sometimes it looked almost like a confession of some sort of misdeed when the other told him in his roundabout way who were his pawns and who were his Bishops and Knights. And in a way it was.

There were pawns and there were Pawns. Those who were expendable and those promotable. There were the Bishops and Rooks, those pieces Tokitatsu has in other parts of the government. There were his Knights, the Airship Captains. The Queen, which was an assignation Akari will never accept. And the all-important King, which was actually the future Tokitatsu wished to bring about.

The future was many different things, Akari could acknowledge that. To some it was a life with no hidden war, like the one Circus now fought. For others, it was a world filled with happiness, a future a cynic like him could only see for those innocents outside of the government organization. And for some, it was a life where they have a choice, to not be bound to future predetermined. An actual future was one of infinite possibilities, one that Akari could only dream off.

Tsukitachi was the only one of the three he did not have the audacity to label Akari as a Chess piece. Place him in a glass case and put him in a safe, yes, and the amoeba had the gall to actually suggest something of the like once. A shattered glass flute near Tsukitachi's neck had that suggestion out the window.

Hirato was never a subtle person when it came to Akari. Gifts, calls, visits, the man had opted to woo and tease the doctor. The designation of Queen was all too apparent even when not a word about it was ever mentioned. It was both galling and endearing. At least Hirato understood enough that he was not just a piece for the other to use and he would walk to the beat of his own drums. And if that meant walking the same path as the idiot, well that was just coincidence.

Maybe this was why he was not a Chess player and only a valuable Chess piece. Because in the games that he plays there were only Pawns and Queens. Pawns were not meant as sacrifices and all that are promoted are equally important. The people, innocent and uninformed were all pawns that needed to be protected and lead. All the people in the government, Circus, Research Tower personnel, and even Kuronomei students, no matter how stupid were Queens.

That was why, when he was once asked "which is more important, and enzyme or his students," he had answered that he didn't care about his students futures when compared to an enzyme. What he learned from that enzyme had one day saved that same students life. Many other people could have taught them what he had on his syllabus. But there was only him who thought that the enzyme might be of importance. Case in point, half of the things no one have thought off as important had much bearing in his incuna research.

He did not care for his students. He cared for his Queens. He cared for his Pawns. And though he may shout and rage, scare them half to death, have them hate him, he aimed to save them all.

And maybe that was why he hated Chess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Promotion and underpromotions are when you bring a pawn to the end of the board and promote it to a queen or underpromote it to the other pieces like a Knight or a Rook. I can see Tatsu playing a mean game of chess. I can see it in how he tries to manipulate things. In my headcanon both the Woody siblings are class act Magnificent Bastards. Tsukitachi is not a slouch in that department either but a lot less apparent than Hirato. He had that scary grin in Chapter 14. Tsuki is also talking about Chapter 6 of Snapshots. In the last part Akari is referring to the extra in Vol 12. And lastly, Akari is playing Damas.


	15. Birds of a feather

At the back of the Medical Arts building was a garden that looked to have fallen into neglect. It seemed overgrown and had marked withering on some of the plants, nothing like the meticulously cultivated lawn at the front of the building or the gardens around the other buildings of the Academy. It could have passed off as a corner of the building that was forgotten if not for the little ties and coloured tape scattered all through the area that almost looked like detritus had they not looked too organized in their layout. The coloured markers in front of each plant was also a giveaway though it had nothing written on them to indicate anything regarding the plant it was before. The walkway between the plants were also odd in that they were slate coloured and powder fine which was a distinct contrast to the coarse dark humus soil closer to the plants. All in all, it lends little in soothing students stress, which may explain the lack of visitors.

It therefore stood to reason, to Tsukitachi, that he would find in that garden, data tablet in hand and eyes scrutinizing one of the overgrown hedges on the side, knelt one of the sharpest mind on campus. Strawberry blond hair shading cerise irises as fingers tapped away, scribing all the information that could be gleaned from the now obviously important experiment that was in progress.

Training had Tsukitachi on high alert as soon as he saw the other seeming to be completely immersed in one of his projects again, leaving himself vulnerable. He scanned the environment for any possible threat, and with this particular asset it didn't matter if it was a "secure" area or not, it had never had. It both irked and amused the Circus special fighter that he did not find even a single Hitsuji or Usagi puttering around. He had a mind to seriously speak with Tokitatsu about allowing such a valuable asset to roam without a shadow. If even as a student he and Hirato understood how important the brilliant man was, now that they were an active part of Circus the fact that the other had yet to be designated as a SSS rank personnel rankled them. It was a much discussed oversight between the two lieutenants. On the other end, it amused him that for all that, the good doctor was now the first in line for the position as head research specialist for the almost finished Research Tower. He would not touch on the fact that Tokitatsu had planned to have the blond take the position since he designated the doctor as the Queen in his chess game. Which still didn't matter at present as Akari was again outside of the Life Medicine building without the protection which he knew had been assigned to monitor the man, discreetly mind you.

"I can feel your amusement even from here Imp" Akari muttered without facing his ex-student. "I really must question the training you received if even I can find you sneaking about me."

Scratching his cheek and hiding his surprise with a nervous chuckle, a tell that he has only ever shown to three other people, at being called out when he knew he had erased all of his presence. Provided that the other had worked as a combat medic for a little while, Tsukitachi still could not figure how he had been noticed by the other when even other trained fighters had trouble.

"You are still incredibly scary little Akari" Tsukitachi groused as he approached the other. Fine slate lifted from the walkways and settled as a layer on his black boots and cloak. The red head adjusted his steps so that he disturbed as little as he could of the unusual ground, he did not want to have the powdery substance all over him. "What is this stuff?"

"An experiment."

It was unfair, in Tsukitachi's mind, that though there was also some silt on the other mans shoes, it was nothing compared to the amount that had settled on him and his clothing in the few steps he had taken on the substance. The fact that he had decided to cheat and simply float towards his ex-instructor so as not to worsen the state of his uniform said much to the amount of damage his clothing took with his first steps.

"Congratulations! There is at least two functioning neurons firing in that head of yours" the blond stated as he watched the other float towards him and thus avoiding disturbing the experiment. Which was actually a compliment coming from the young doctor and Tsukitachi took it as such.

"Ah, dear Akari how I have missed your dulcet tone and acerbic tongue" he returned as he leaned over where the man knelt as if trying to see the plant better. The soft huff from beneath him reminded him that this was no easy, brainless twit and that the man knew exactly what he was trying to do.

"For a Circus combatant you have a much too high a level of paranoia." Tsukitachi could almost see the mental eye roll that the other did with the statement, which he would never do physically as it was something beneath him. "Another one for your list of faults."

"Only for you and a select few dear Akari."

Even if they were within Kuronomei grounds Tsukitachi did not feel it safe to leave the other unguarded, at least not in such an open space with nothing, not even an Usagi, scanning the grounds. Thinking to distract/annoy the other enough to send him storming back to the safety of the academy building "I would say that the plant is interesting as I have never seen this particular type in the whole time I was a student but other than that... What do you see?"

"The next generation of incuna cell technology" the other answered, eyes the beautiful Claret colour that he loved to see both in his alcohol and the eyes of the man. It meant both pleasure and excitement. It meant interesting things in the near future. The colour that had many a fellow researcher pull at their hair trying to catch up to the super collider thoughts of their main researcher. He can almost see the frustration in those who could not comprehend and the awe from those who understood.

Akari has long known that his student had a good head on his shoulders. Graduating within the top handful in his batch along with Rishiana and Hirato was just one of the signs, though he wouldn't put it past the other two to have dragged their friend into study sessions kicking and scratching. He knew that though the other didn't know the details, the "boy" understood and was already seeing the far reaching implication of his statement.

"Time frame?"

"Maybe as soon as before your inauguration."

Tsukitachi made to whistle as that date was in less than a month but ended up choking as what the other said truly sank in. It wasn't that it was secret, as promotions do go through a lot a people and paperwork. Add that to the fact that if there was anyone who could call themselves the friend of the Chessmaster Tokitatsu Woody who practically ruled the council tower, then Akari Dezart would be it. It shouldn't have surprised him that the man knew. It was the timing of the topic and that he did not have to broach it himself that took him by surprise. In all of the scenarios that he had planned in his head, this was not in the top 3, or 20. This may be one of the reasons that he liked the dear doctor. He never got bored talking to him.

* * *

Never should it be said that Akari Dezart did not know how to receive a visitor. With the tea slowly steeping and some sandwiches, scones and cakes laid around the table, the blonde took the couch opposite his ex-student. It was a distinct change from how he had once sat across the other, table a bulwark against the hyperactive student's chatter. Here and now, there and then, half a world away in truth. He can almost superimpose the boy against the man. But, that wasn't the goal for this meeting. His student came to him, even if it has been years since he last needed to bother the doctor in this capacity. The fact that Hirato was absent, most probably purposely still in the middle of an assignment, was telling.

Troubled was not a word Akari would normally describe the red head. The boy who got into many a situation, trying to breach Kuronomei walls to test the "all seeing eye" for one, without a thought could not be easily bothered. This fact meant the subject was close to his heart and not one that even his incredible intellect can resolve.

With Rishiana still the current guardian of Kuronomei, safely ensconced in a walled fort filled with aspiring Circus candidates, and Tokitatsu in his virtual tower; that left only himself and Hirato. As his promotion, which was more a lateral shift with a lot of crappy benefits, was actually something he knew Tsukitachi was all for and had likely no inkling of; then it was most likely Hirato that had the other approaching him. It was either of two things, three if he included the possibility of either of them suddenly finding someone of interest which has happened before. Either Tsukitachi has finally had enough of his best friend, co-conspirator and heterosexual life partner, Rishiana's words not his, or his career choices was playing havoc on his beliefs.

Akari had read the young mans file, having asked for it early on, as soon as the Woody brat started hovering around him even. Having a strategist like Tokitatsu as an unlikely friend had taught him much. He had started his own files for his bookends in those early Kuronomei days. In simple notebooks, written in old shorthand, in a language rarely used in modern circles, he wrote about them. This method he later applied to all important Circus personnel. He had a privileged view of the people who were now to be the Captains of the First and Second Airships of Circus. They were still brats that needed to be taken down a notch once in a while.

"Have you spoken to Hirato about this?"

"Depends on what you are talking about Akari dear."

"The fact that you are bothered by your recent promotion for one," Akari took a stab as he sipped at a new tea blend he thought would suit the distressed new captains tongue. As he watched the others face after the first sip, the non-expression was quite informative. He filed the data for a possible bargaining chip at a later date. "You should know better than I how he will react."

"And there is the crux of the matter," Tsukitachi answered. " I know him. I understand him. Vice versa even."

"Infallible cooperation where individually you are deadly but together…" Akari made a face. "An instinct learned from your years in Kuronomei."

Gold eyes watched the expression smooth out of the beautiful face. For all the others infamous reputation in the National Defence and the Biological Research Bureau all that pinged in Tsukitachi's instincts was 'safe' and 'protect.' As a man whose instincts have kept him alive in his chosen field, he followed this odd gut feeling. It had saved him and his partner-in-crime many a time, and most of the time the man in question was the one to make sure they lived to regret the times they didn't. Cold impersonal hands which simply healed and never asked or took. Didn't want anything from him/them. Unafraid to speak his mind to people who could kill him with barely a thought. Smart, genius in his field really, enough to lead his own burial force yet chose to heal. One of the few he would willingly give control to, though he will deny this vehemently. Precious boffin.

"Trust him. You have for years," he continued. "You're being an idiot Imp. Hirato isn't that fragile. Not in this type of situation at least."

"No he isn't," the ginger agreed. "But he is also proud."

"He may not tell you, and I pity the being who ever finally ties him down, but he isn't so proud that he will begrudge you what is rightfully yours."

If Tsukitachi was to be honest, he knew this already. But to hear it from someone who he trusted and Hirato trusted to give credence to his own deductions. It just felt right to have the confirmation. Almost a higher authority.

"Finish your tea and leave. I gave you my assessment and its up to you how you use the information, Captain."

"Aw I just got here," the red head whined until he noted how he was referred to and the soft lift at the sides of the others mouth. Rarer than a pink star diamond that he has likened the dear doctors eye often enough. Nothing like the smirk that the Chessmaster held when his plan falls into place yet Tsukitachi could not shake the feeling that some manipulation had been in effect. "You can't kick me out so soon!"

* * *

In front of the Kuronomei gates, far from any eavesdropping student, Tsukitachi grinned at his former lecturer. It had been a social call, one that he and Hirato vowed to enforce even with Rishiana in residence at Kuronomei. Never lose touch with those who were important, you may never find them again.

Pausing before launching himself into the sky, the Circus lieutenant asked "Why am I 'Imp' when Hirato is Hirato?"

"Hirato has yet to earn one."

"One?"

"A name. Protozoa maybe or Neanderthal. Brat if he doesn't grow up."

Tsukitachi stared, information processing behind surprised eyes. Laughter followed the blonde as he walked away from the now highly amused First Airship Captain.

* * *

Akari smiled at the black dot that flew farther and farther away.

It was worth it, just the sound of a real laugh, it was worth the ribbing he knew he will need to suffer. Let them have 'something' over him. Give them a sense of control. Appease the predators. Be fallible enough to not become competition but strong enough to walk with them.

"Eavesdropping should be below your status Tatsu. Be glad the Imp was preoccupied."

A black Hitsuji detached itself from atop the foliage of a nearby tree, top hat and suit matching Circus regulation uniform, as a familiar voice answered. "For someone who professes to hate Chess, and seeming to be guileless, it surprises me how deft a hand you are in getting your way with your previous 'pets'. Even the inveterate manipulator little Tsuki is exactly where you said he will be, where you wanted him to be."

"I am not a manipulator Tatsu. That is your department. I am an enabler," Akari answered back. "I give them the means, equip them if you would, to be able to reach their potential."

"I have never won a game off of you in the games that matter Akari. And it is not for the lack of trying." The voice now muffled as Akari picked up the guardian and started the long walk back. "I am just glad that you have no patience for outright manipulation."

"Think what you wish," the doctor huffed.

"I will Akari dear. Let me be the first to congratulate you in getting your bookends to reach Airship Captaincy." If Akari did not have the restraint, he would have strangled the Hitsuji he held, only the knowledge that it will not deter the intended speaker, and would be a waste of a good guardian, held him back. "Would you like to have a tea party to celebrate?"

"You mean alcohol don't you."

"Of course."

"Now I know where Tsukitachi got it."

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Though this is part of Snapshots and ties in with the world, it was never meant to be part of it when I started the story. This was actually to be part of the Bookends world. I leave it to the readers where they wish to place this chapter. Also, yes, I do not have a beta reader and most of my works are pretty much unfiltered plot bunnies that just popped up in my head that just screamed "write me."


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